School-desk



(No Model.)

' G. MUN GER.

SCHOOL DESK. No. 329,201.

N. PETERS, PholmLllhnyaphlr. WAIHQIIM. QC.

Patented Oct. 27, 1885- .NITED' STATES GEORGE MUNGER, OFEAST RIVER, CONNECTICUT.

SCH COL-DESK.

Application filed April 7, 1894. Serial No. 126,819. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: g

Be it known that I, GEoRGE-MUNGER, of East River, in the county of New Haven and. State of Connecticut, have invented anew Improvement in School-Desks;jand I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the same, and which said drawings .constitute part of this specification, and represent,in

Figure 1, an end view of a desk-standard complete; Fig. 2, a top view of th'eseat-arm, the seat removed Fig. 3, aside view of the seatarm, showing a section of the seat as the dovetail on the arm just entering the groove on the seat; Fig. 4, a transverse section through the arm and seat; Fig. 5, an under side View of a portion of the seat, showing the dovetail groove 6; Fig; 6, a sectional'side View showing the seat as in place upon the arm; Fig. 7, a-sectional side View of the standard, showing the back as being set upon the dovetail on the standard; Fig. 8, a front view of the back, showing the dovetail; Fig. 9, a rear view of a portion of the back, showing dovetail groove m,- Fig. 10, a sectional View showing the back as in place on the standard. I

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of standards for school-desks which are made from east iron, and specially to devices for securing the back and seat to the standard.

In the more general construction of this class of school-furniture the backs and seats are curved to correspond substantially to the shape of the body of the person, and the seat and back are made from wood. These have hitherto usually been made from narrow slats or strips of wood secured to the standard by dovetail-shaped lugs cast on the standard and seat-arm, and corresponding dovetail grooves cut transversely across the strips, the several slats in their position on the standard assuming the proper curvature, and secured by screws, bolts, wedges, or other devices. Such seats have also been made with the backs and seats of a single curvethat is, a segment of a circle in transverse section-the seat-arm and the standard of corresponding shape, and each constructed with a dovetail, the segmentshaped back 01' seat having a corresponding dovetail groove, which will readily pass onto the arm or back, as the case may be; but such segmentshaped seats and backs are less de- L sirable than those which are composed of two reverse curves, as showniin the illustration.

The object of my invention is to construct the seat and back in a single piece, instead of several strips,and yet secure them by a dovetail attachment; andit consists in the construction, as hereinafter described, whereby a dovetailon a curve of the standard or seat-arm is caused to enter and engage a corresponding dovetail groove in the back and seat. Vere the back and seatof a single curvethat is to say, a segment of a circle, as before describedthere would be no difficulty in constructing the standard with a dovetail rib which would enter and follow a corresponding groove in the 'backor seat, as the case may be; but in both the seat .and back there are two curves,,as seen in Fig. 1.

The back A, starting from the seat-line, curves upward and forward for a short distance, then upward and backwardfthat is, thecurve of the upper portion is the reverse of the curve of the lower portion; so of the seat B, the rear portion is the reverse curve to the front portion.

The seat-arm G is hinged to the standard D in the usual manner, as at a. The seat-arm is shown detached in Figs. 2 and 3, Fig. .3 being a side View. The upper edge of the seat-arm is dovetail shape, following the curves, as seen in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Upon the under side of the seat is a corresponding dovetail groove, d, as seen inFigs. 3 and 5. This dovetail groove extends to a point near the front of the seat, as at 6, Fig. 3. As the longer curve of the rear portion cannot pass onto the reverse curve at the front of the arm, the dovetail is cut away on each side, as at f f, Fig. 2, at a point near the intersection of the two curves, and so that the dovetail groove in the seat may pass onto that portion of the dovetail on the arm in rear of the front curvethat is, where the curve corresponds to the longer or rear portion of the curve of the seat, and as seen in Fig. 3. The seat is then forced onto its arm until the reverse curve of the seat is reached, as seen in broken lines, Fig. 3. There the groove in the seat at the forward end is constructed with a notch, s, on each side, out

ting the sides of the dovetail in the groove in the seat, as seen in Fig. 5, to pass onto the end of the arm as the seat reaches its final position on the arm, and, as seen in Fig. 6, the nose or extreme forward end, It, of the arm has its dovetail shape carried around the front, the termination of the dovetail groove in the seat of corresponding shape, so that the one interlocks with the other, as seen in Fig. 6, and thus the seat will be firmly held to the arm throughout its entire width.

The standard has upon its front a dovetail, 1', like the dovetail on the seatarm. This is continuous from its upper end down to the intersection of the curve, where a notch, Z, is out each side through the dovetail, as seen in Fig. 7, and also seen in Fig. 8. The back is placed upon the standard at its upper end and moved downward. The dovetail-shaped groove m in the back corresponds to the dovetail t on the standard; but as the shorter curve of the back cannot follow the longer opposite curve the point of introduction of the dovetail is at the intersection of the two curves, as at a. At these points the edge of the dovetail in the back is notched, as seen in Fig. 9, and so that the back is set upon the standard, asseen in Fig. 7, then forced downward as the shorter curve of the back approaches the shorter curve or notches Z in the dovetail, as seen in broken 1ines,Fig. 7. The notches in the dovetail on the standard permit the shorter curve to pass onto-the dovetail portion below, as seen in Fig. 10, and so that the dovetail on the frame engages the dovetail on the back throughout and holds it firmly in its position. This connection avoids the use of screws,bolts, wedges, &c., in fastening the backs, and also enables me to make the back and seat in asingle width, thereby avoiding the objections to the backs and seats composed of slats or narrow strips, or to the backs and seats formed of a single curve or segment shape.

It will be understood that either the seat or back may be constructed of slats in the usual manner. I therefore do not wish to limi my invention to the construction of both the back and the arm with the continuous dovetail groove and in a single piece.

I claim 1. In a school-desk standard having its front formed of two reverse curves corresponding to the shape of the back of the seat in l'rontof it, the said curved portion constructed with a dovetail, t, with a notch, Z, through each side of the dovetail at the intersection of the two curves, the back A,of a corresponding curved shape, constructed with a dovetail groove, m, corresponding to the dovetail on the standard, and provided with notches n,whieh, together with said notches Z in the dovetail on the standard,permit the dovetail groove on the back to pass onto the dovetail on the standard, substantially as described.

2. A seat'arm for school'desk standards, its bearing-surface composed of two reverse curves constructed with a dovetail, I), following said two curves, a notch,f,' in each side of said dovetail at the intersection of the two curves, combined with the seat B,curved correspondingly to the curve of the said arm,and constructed with a dovetail groove, cl, the said groove (2 provided with notches s,which, together with the said notches in the dovetail on the arm, permit the grooves in the seat to pass onto the dovetail on the arm, and whereby-the reverse curves of the dovetail enter and interlock with the corresponding curve in the scat, substantially as described.

Joan E. EARLE, J 0s. 0. EARLY}. 

